The Thai military court has issued arrest warrants for six young anti-junta activists calling for an investigation into the corruption allegations surrounding the construction of Rajabhakti Park.
According to the Daily News, the Military Court of Bangkok on Wednesday, 13 January 2016, issued arrest warrants for Sirawit Serithiwat, 23, Chonticha Jaeng-rew, 22, Chanoknan Ruamsap, 22, Abhisit Sapnaphapan, 29, Korakoch Saengyenpan, 23, and Thanet Anantawong, 25.
The warrants were approved after the police of Railway Police Station in Thonburi requested the court for permission to arrest the activists.
The six are among 11 young activists who are accused of violating the junta’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 3/2015, which prohibits political gatherings of five or more persons, after they participated in a failed excursion to Rajabhakti Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province to investigate corruption allegations at the park on 7 December 2015.
The activists were intercepted and detained en route to Rajabhakti Park.
In late December 2015, the police issued summons for the 11 activists, but only five of them so far have reported to the Railway Police Station of Thonburi. They denied all charges.
Last week on 8 January 2016, Sirawit and five other activists went to the police station. However, they refused to report, saying that they did nothing wrong and were only exercising their rights as active citizens.
Out of the 11, Sirawit and Cholticha have already been charged with violating the junta’s political gathering ban as a result of their previous political activities.
Five of the six youth activists calling for an investigation into the corruption allegations surrounding the construction of Rajabhakti Park at the Railway Police Station in Thonburi on 8 January 2016